FR Question 11

11            During one class that I observed, the topic for the day was polygamy in Utah History.  Mr. Thomas used a political cartoon as a way to enhance his instruction.  The political cartoon was entitled “Uncle Sam’s Bed Problems”.  In the cartoon, there were several characters depicted including Native Americans, Irish Immigrants, Chinese Immigrants, African Americans and Brigham Young.  Uncle Sam was kicking Brigham Young out of his bed, symbolizing America kicking the Mormons out of the United States.  Mr. Thomas was using discovery learning to help the students understand how to find deeper meaning in political cartoons.  The text states that discovery learning encourages the students to actively discover and internalize a concept through unstructured exploration of to be learned information.  Mr. Thomas handed a copy of the cartoon to everyone and then asked the students to tell him what it meant.  At first the students were really hesitant and couldn’t grasp the concept.  Mr. Thomas then supported the students learning with guided discovery.  The text states that guided discovery occurs when the teacher provides enough guidance to ensure that students discover the rule or principle to be learned.  Mr. Thomas used guided discovery by asking the students guided questions.  He asked them to name to groups or individuals in the picture and how they identified that individual.  For example, the students new it was Brigham Young because he had polygamy written on him and the picture showed him with a big white beard.  He then asked what the bed represented and why these groups were “troublesome” to Uncle Sam.  Using discovery learning and guided discovery, Mr. Thomas helped the students in his classroom develop their skill in analyzing political cartoons.  It was fun to see the students make the connections and find deeper meaning in the cartoons.  They really identified with the lesson and were engaged throughout the entire class period.